Interesting piece in the telegraph today.
Pochettino desperately needs Paul Mitchell's recruitment nous at Tottenham and 'rival' Franco Baldini agrees
Jason Burt: Recruitment and analysis at Spurs has been drifting for too long. The appointment of Paul Mitchell from Southampton should fix that
Pochettino desperately need Paul Mitchell's recruitment nous at Tottenham and 'rival' Franco Baldini agrees
Nick of time: Mauricio Pochettino has been reunited with Paul Mitchell, his old head of recruitment at Southampton Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Jason Burt By Jason Burt10:30PM GMT 22 Nov 2014
The appointment of Paul Mitchell as Tottenham Hotspur’s head of recruitment would appear to be bad news for Franco Baldini, the club’s technical director. Or so the story goes. Except is it?
After all it was Baldini’s suggestion to hire Mitchell who is a highly-regarded talent-spotter and analyst and whose department helped transform Southampton’s transfer dealings in the summer. Why would he hire his replacement? That would be generous in the extreme unless he did not want to stay. And there is no suggestion he is set to quit.
Given Mitchell worked previously with Spurs manager Mauricio Pochettino then it has been concluded that a new axis is emerging at the club – with Baldini frozen out. Except Pochettino was a Baldini recommendation as well. The two get on well and have a mutual respect.
Maybe the Italian is not on such thin ice, then, as he has sought to implement the structure at Spurs that chairman Daniel Levy has always craved. Mitchell is not a director of football, Baldini is. And neither is Baldini a head of recruitment, Mitchell is. They are different roles.
Tottenham’s former sporting director Damien Comolli took the airwaves recently to claim the club’s scouting network was a “kind of joke in the scouting community” – because you rarely saw them represented at matches. Spurs take umbrage with that but they are acutely aware they have to improve their recruitment and analysis and put a proper structure in place. It has drifted for too long.
Ian Broomfield returned to the club earlier this year, from Queens Park Rangers, but he is a scout and has been given the main international role. Broomfield does not have the scientific, analytical skills that Mitchell, who will be based at Spurs’ state-of-the-art training ground in Enfield, has to identify talent.
Maybe Baldini is on borrowed time – but that decision will come down to his role in spending the £100million plus that was brought in the summer before last largely through the sale of Gareth Bale. By any measure those signings such as Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela have failed. Baldini’s future may be determined by the next two transfer windows and how he reshapes the squad.
The signings – indeed the bulk of the squad – are being given this season to prove themselves. Then Spurs will act. A clear-out will be difficult but Pochettino has the remit of assessing who to keep, who to move on.
There is strong support for the Argentine at the club. He is popular – even if there have been grumbling from some senior players (who should be careful as their continual complaints have not gone unnoticed) – but needs to get some results starting with Saturday’s away trip to Hull City.
Pochettino has worked the players hard. Maybe too hard at times. Training has been tough and there is a suggestion it has taken too much out of the players when it comes to games. But it is the way he works and he is convinced that over the course of a campaign, results will come.
There have been complaints that he does not know his best side while eyebrows were raised when he named Younes Kaboul as captain. Kaboul would not necessarily be regarded as an automatic first-choice unlike, for example, goalkeeper Hugo Lloris who is also France’s captain. But, again, Pochettino is attempting to assess all the players and will not compromise on his style. The mood at the club is, still, that it is them and not the manager and not, despite the rumblings, Baldini who are on trial this season. But time will tell.